Cracks in the Sidewalk

by Bette Lee Crosby

  “It is the responsibility of the court,” Noreen said emphatically, “to see that these questions are adequately addressed before any change is made in the custodial issues pertaining to these three minor children.”

  She returned to the defense table where Jeffrey Caruthers sat with a malicious grin curling the corners of his mouth.

  ~ ~ ~

  Judge Brill rapped his gavel and declared that the court would take a ten-minute recess. Once everyone returned, Dudley Grimm proceeded with his case and called Claire to the witness stand.

  Claire placed one hand on the Holy Bible and swore she’d tell the truth then settled into the witness box.

  “Missus McDermott,” Dudley began, “you are the mother of Elizabeth Caruthers and the maternal grandmother of David, Kimberly, and Christian Caruthers, is that correct?”

  “Yes,” Claire answered nervously.

  “And prior to your daughter’s illness, how often did you see those grandchildren?”

  “Every day. I’d stop by for a visit in the afternoon, and I’d stay with the children when Jeffrey and Elizabeth had an evening out.”

  “And how would you describe your relationship with your grandchildren?”

  “Wonderful,” Claire answered promptly. “Those kids love me every bit as much as I love them. David, he’s the oldest, loves to have me read stories. He generally asks for the tales about King Arthur and his knights. Before I can finish one story, he’s already asking for another one. He’s heard the same stories at least one hundred times, but he never gets tired of listening to them.”

  “What about Kimberly?”

  “She was two years old when Liz first got sick, but that little tyke sure had a mind of her own. Elizabeth taught the children that they had to take turns choosing the story, and if David asked for a King Arthur story on Monday, then on Tuesday, Kimberly would insist on Goldilocks. Even though she was only two, she knew how to keep track of when it was her turn.”

  “And Christian?”

  “He was born after Elizabeth got sick, so I never really had the chance to spend time with him.”

  “Why is that?”

  Claire lowered her eyes. “Jeffrey told me to quit stopping by in the afternoon, because I was disrupting his household.”

  “With Elizabeth in the hospital, didn’t he need someone to watch the children while he was working?”

  Claire nodded. “Yes, but he’d rather pay Missus Ramirez to babysit than have me do it for free.”

  “Were you aware of Jeffrey Caruthers’ financial difficulties at that time?”

  “Yes. He’d already asked Charles for another loan.”

  “Another loan? Had he borrowed money on other occasions?”

  “Yes. Five times before.”

  “And did your husband give him the money he was asking for?”

  “He did the five times before, but not this time.”

  “Was that the reason Jeffrey Caruthers no longer allowed you to see the children?”

  “Objection!” Noreen called out. “Calls for speculation on the part of the witness.”

  “Sustained,” Judge Brill answered and with a nod to Dudley he said, “Rephrase your question, Counselor.”

  “Very well,” Dudley answered. He turned to Claire and asked, “Did Jeffrey Caruthers ever give a reason for not allowing you to visit with the children?”

  “Yes and no.”

  “Please explain.”

  “He said we were to blame for all his problems, even Elizabeth’s illness. But he never explained why he thought that.”

  Dudley nodded and stood there for a moment fingering his chin. He finally said, “Missus McDermott, this court has heard how you attacked the defendant’s house with a sledgehammer. Is that true?”

  Claire cringed. “Yes,” she finally stuttered. “That’s true, but it’s not the way it sounds.”

  “Please explain.”

  “It happened just after Elizabeth was released from the hospital. Jeffrey had already told us she couldn’t go back to his house because he couldn’t take care of her, so Liz came to stay with us. She’d been asking to see the kids, plus she wanted some of her clothes and personal belongings. I tried telephoning Jeffrey to ask if I could come by and get her things. I can’t even guess how many times I called. Dozens maybe. But he wouldn’t answer the phone.

  “Finally I drove over there and knocked on the door. There were lights on in the house and I could see him moving around inside, but he wouldn’t answer the door either.”

  “So you tried to break it down?”

  “No,” Claire answered indignantly. “I didn’t really plan to use the sledgehammer. I only brought it because I thought it might scare Jeffrey into opening the door. I figured if we could have a face-to-face conversation, I’d be able to reason with him. After I stood outside for twenty minutes ringing the bell and he still didn’t answer, I hit the door one time—just one time and not even hard enough to make an actual dent in the wood.”

  “Did Jeffrey then answer the door?”

  “Immediately.”

  “Had he not answered, would you have continued your sledgehammer attack?”

  “No. After that one moment of anger, I pretty well came to my senses.”

  “Once Jeffrey opened the door, did you ask him for your daughter’s clothing and personal belongings?”

  “Yes, and he agreed to bring them over.”

  “Did he bring them over?”

  “No, he didn’t. He tossed some of her clothes into garbage bags and had a pickup truck dump the bags in our driveway. It was raining really hard that day, so most of the clothes got wet and smelly. When I first opened the bags, I thought it was just rags, but then I saw Liz’s pink suit…” Claire tearfully lowered her face into her hands.

  “I’m sorry, Missus McDermott. I know this must be painful.”

  “Yes, it is.” Claire sniffed.

  “Do you need me to ask for a ten-minute recess?”

  “No,” she answered sadly. “Just go on.”

  “Missus McDermott, when you opened the bags sent by Jeffrey Caruthers, did they include any of Elizabeth’s jewelry or the other items she’d asked for?”

  “No. Just clothes and shoes.”

  “At the time you went to the Caruthers’ house to ask for Elizabeth’s belongings, did you also ask if the children could come to visit Elizabeth?”

  “Yes.”

  “What was the answer?”

  “Jeffrey said he’d burn in hell before he’d allow Liz or any of her family to see his kids. Then he pushed me off the stoop and slammed the door.”

  “When Jeffrey Caruthers pushed you off the stoop, did you take the sledgehammer to the door again?”

  “No.”

  “Was that because you’d already realized it was a mistake to resort to violence?”

  “Objection!” Noreen shouted. “He’s leading the witness.”

  Dudley offered to rephrase the question. He turned back to Claire. “If this situation presented itself again, would you repeat the attack on his door?”

  “No. I’m sorry I did it the first time. I know it was wrong. But at the time, I was frustrated because he wouldn’t talk to me. I knew how much Liz wanted to see the children, and I didn’t know of any other way to get Jeffrey’s attention.”

  “So you did it for your daughter, Elizabeth.” Dudley hesitated a moment then asked, “What else would you do to help her?”

  “What kind of a question is that?”

  “Well, would you lie about her mental and physical abilities so that this court will feel sympathetic and grant visitation, even if it’s not in the best interest of the children?”

  “Of course not,” Claire answered. “I love those children the same as I love Liz. I’d never do anything that might harm them.”

  “Can you say with complete honesty that your daughter is strong enough mentally and physically to have regularly-scheduled visits with her three young children?”

&nb
sp; “I can and will say it. I swear before God that those children would be perfectly safe with Elizabeth. It would be good for both the children and Elizabeth to spend time together. Liz loves those children more than most people can understand, and the kids feel the same way about her. I don’t for one minute believe that David and Kimberly have forgotten their mother, and I think they deserve the chance to spend time with her while they can.”

  “Missus McDermott, how do you feel about your son-in-law?”

  “At one time,” Claire said sadly, “I loved Jeffrey the same as I would a son. But now—well, now he’s a different person. He’s bitter and mean beyond belief. Liz gave him everything she had to give, an abundance of love and all of her good years. But he has nothing to give back during this last bit of her life. How would you feel about someone like that?”

  Dudley gave a sympathetic nod. Then he said, “One last question. Have you or would you say anything derogatory about Jeffrey Caruthers within earshot of your grandchildren?”

  “No, I never have and never would. Regardless of my feelings about Jeffrey, he’s their father and one of these days he’ll be their only living parent, so why would I say anything that could destroy the children’s faith in him?”

  Dudley smiled, then turned to Noreen and said, “Your witness.”

  Before Noreen could take the courtroom floor, Judge Brill rapped his gavel. “It’s getting close to noon, so let’s stop here and take a forty-five-minute recess for lunch.”

  Claire breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out of the witness box.

  The Trial Continues

  As they left the courthouse, Noreen and Jeffrey turned to the left and disappeared around the corner. The McDermotts and Dudley went in the opposite direction. Claire was full of questions. But with the men walking at a brisk pace in long strides it was all she could do to keep up, so she waited until they’d settled into a back booth at the Crooked Spoon and ordered their lunch.

  “How’d I do?” she asked.

  “Fine,” Dudley said. “But the tough part is ahead of you. Noreen is a razor-sharp lawyer. Whatever you say, she’s gonna turn it around and rephrase it in the negative. So make certain to watch for that, and don’t let her lead you into saying something you hadn’t intended.”

  “Like what?”

  “For instance, she gets you to admit that you love Elizabeth more than life itself. Then she’ll rephrase it to sound as if your concern for your daughter will override any concern you might have regarding the welfare of the children.”

  “Oh dear,” Claire said.

  “Noreen’s good. She’ll make you believe she’s very sympathetic, but when she gets what she needs she’ll pounce.”

  “Oh dear,” Claire repeated.

  “Don’t worry,” Dudley said. “You can get around that. Just keep your answers short as possible, one word if you can. Don’t give her anything to work with. And most importantly, don’t let her get you riled. If I know Noreen, she’ll drag out that sledgehammer incident and use it to make you look like a raging hothead, so be careful.”

  By the time their sandwiches arrived, Claire’s stomach was knotted with fear. Her grilled cheese grew cold as she listened to Charles and Dudley.

  “I’ll call you to the stand right after Noreen finishes her cross of Claire,” Dudley told Charles. “I’m going to concentrate on the financial aspect of your relationship with Jeffrey, and I’ll ask you to tell the court about his reaction when you wouldn’t give him the money.”

  “But this isn’t about the money.”

  “But if we show that his actions were brought about because you refused to lend him the money he wanted, we can prove his motive for keeping the children away from you and Elizabeth is vindictiveness rather than the belief it’s in their best interest.”

  Charles nodded and chomped down on his sandwich.

  When they settled back into the courtroom, Claire nervously glanced at Noreen Sarnoff.

  “Claire McDermott,” the court clerk called out, “please retake the stand for cross examination. Remember, you have already been sworn in.”

  Noreen rose from her seat and in a few long strides stood facing Claire. “Missus McDermott, do you love your daughter?”

  Claire remembered Dudley’s warning about the lawyer’s trickery.

  “Yes,” she said tentatively.

  “Do you also love your three grandchildren?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who do you love more, your daughter or your grandchildren?”

  “Objection,” Dudley called out. “That has no relevance—”

  “Your Honor,” Noreen interrupted, “I’m trying to establish the witness’s priorities in relationship to the wellbeing of the children.”

  “I’ll allow it,” Judge Brill said. “But watch where you’re going, Counselor.”

  Noreen smiled and turned back to Claire.

  “I love them equally,” Claire finally said.

  “Well, what if they were all trapped in a burning building and the fireman said it was only possible for him to rescue either your daughter or her three children. Who would you want him to save?”

  “How can you ask a mother that question?” Claire said suddenly, forgetting Noreen’s sharp-edged tongue. “It would be impossible for any mother to choose one child over another, and every one of my grandchildren is as dear to my heart as my own child.”

  “But if you absolutely were faced with such a choice?”

  “My grandchildren,” Claire said. “They’re babies, just starting their life. My Elizabeth is on the doorstep of ending hers.”

  A stream of tears began to flow from Claire’s eyes, so Judge Brill called for a five-minute recess so she could compose herself.

  Once Claire returned to the stand, Noreen began in a much more sympathetic tone.

  “I can see how much you love your grandchildren. So you want what is best for them, true?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does that include living in a non-combative environment?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you believe attacking their father with a sledgehammer is part of such an environment?”

  “I didn’t attack him, I hit the door,” Claire said. “But I shouldn’t have. It was an unfortunate choice, made in a moment of anger.”

  “A moment of anger,” Noreen repeated with a self-satisfied nod. “And how often do you get that angry?”

  “Never before, and I would venture to say never again.”

  “But suppose you were to get that angry again. Might you take it out on one of your grandchildren? Hit them? Push them down a flight—”

  “Objection!” Dudley shouted. “There are no grounds for such an assumption!”

  “Sustained,” Judge Brill replied, giving Noreen an edgy glare.

  Wanting to pull her thoughts together and cover up her increasing concern about the case, Noreen walked back to the defense table, shuffled through several papers, then turned back to Claire.

  “You claim your daughter, Elizabeth, is mentally and physically capable of having visitation with the children, yet she is conspicuously absent from this courtroom. Why is that?”

  “Elizabeth is too sick to sit in this courtroom and listen to people argue about whether or not she’s entitled to see her own children.”

  “If she’s too sick to fight for her children, isn’t it possible that she’s also too sick to care for them during visitation?”

  “No, it isn’t possible,” Claire answered. “Someone else is almost always with her—myself, Liz’s dad, or a nurse.”

  “Almost always,” Noreen repeated with another cynical nod. “But have you considered what could happen to the baby if Elizabeth lost consciousness during one of those almost times?”

  “We’ll guarantee that someone will always be there when the children are with her.”

  “Even if someone is there, what would happen if Elizabeth were to pass out or have a seizure? Wouldn’t that person be busy attending to your
daughter instead of watching over the children?”

  “We can make certain there are always two people when Elizabeth has the children with her.”

  “You’ve already acknowledged that it’s possible Elizabeth could have a seizure. Don’t you think that would be a horrific thing for her children to experience?”

  “Objection,” Dudley said with an air of disdain. “Miss Sarnoff is badgering the witness, and she’s asking for a speculative opinion on a hypothetical situation.”

  “Sustained,” Judge Brill said. “Move on, Counselor.”

  Noreen suppressed a sigh of frustration. “Very well,” she said, switching tactics. “You’ve made numerous statements indicating that you have an extremely low opinion of your son-in-law, isn’t that true, Missus McDermott?”

  “How can I not have that opinion of him?” Claire answered, forgetting Dudley’s advice. “He’s a greedy, mean, selfish person who has gone out of his way to be cruel to Elizabeth! Any mother would feel as I do when someone hurts their child.”

  “And your daughter, has she expressed the same opinion about her ex-husband?”

  “Husband,” Claire corrected. “They’re still married. And, yes, she has.”

  Dudley grimaced.

  “With all of this animosity directed toward Jeffrey Caruthers, you still expect the court to believe that your entire household can project a positive impression of the children’s father whenever they’re around?”

  Sensing that the damage was already done, Claire answered, “We can and will!”

  “I’d say that is highly unlikely,” Noreen replied.

  Before Claire could argue the point, Noreen bellowed, “No further questions,” and returned to her seat.

  ~ ~ ~

  Dudley stood and called for Charles McDermott to take the stand. As planned he asked about the amount and number of loans he’d given Jeffrey.

  “So,” Dudley said, pausing for emphasis, “in total you have given your son-in-law one-hundred-and-ten thousand dollars in loans to shore up his failing business, is that correct, Mister McDermott?”

  “Correct,” Charles acknowledged.

  “And has he repaid any of this money?”